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Table Manners
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Various customs relate to meal times at the Chinese table. Round dining tables are preferred over rectangular ones as they seat more people and allow diners to face each other without any implicit or explicit status differentiation in seating (such as the western tradition of the head of a household sitting at the 'head' of the table). At a meal, social status is leveled, and all are equal. Mealtimes are the arena for family discussions, though the discussion of 'misfortunate' topics such as death is considered bad manners.
Other bad mannered practices include playing with the chopsticks during a meal (for example banging them on the table), or using a spoon used for personal eating for serving from a communal plate or bowl.
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